AgroLibya 2010: Food Security for All

On 21-24 June the 4th Libyan International Agriculture and Marine Fishery Exhibition AgroLibya was held in Tripoli. NedaLibya participated with its own stand where we had the pleasure of receiving many guests, amongst whom Eng. Abdel Majeed Algaud, the Secretary of the General People’s Committee for Agriculture, Marine & Animal Wealth.

Also this year Alfred Rol, International Sales Manager of Dacom, came over to personally introduce the Dacom Agri Yield Management System to the Libyan public. Among the guests to attend his lecture 'Agri Yield Management, The next revolution in agriculture' were many Libyans of the agricultural sector as well as the esteemed Mr. Bart von Bartheld, The Netherlands Ambassador to Libya. In his lecture, Mr. Rol highlighted the possibilities of the Dacom system to help farmers maximize their yields through the economically sound and responsible use of agri-inputs like chemicals, water and nutrients. By using Agri Yield Management, farmers can save 30% chemicals and 50% water; an achievement surely close to the heart of this year's main theme of AgroLibya: Food Security For All.

Potatoes: A World of Variety

Quite a lot of visitors enquired about the variety of potatoes within the Libyan market. 'Why do we see only Spunta?' was a question we often heard. NedaLibya's goal is exactly this: to bring more variety into the Libyan potato market.

Growing different varieties with different harvest times can give farmers an economical advantage. The already well known variety Mondial for example can be planted early, thus giving farmers a head start. And the new variety Sylvana, which is medium early, has a shorter growing season than Spunta. As a result, it needs less water and can be harvested earlier.

A broader range of varieties will also provide variety for the tastebuds, giving customers a choice of tasty table potatoes as well as potatoes for processing into french fries and crisps. The all time Libyan favourite Spunta for example is not especially suited for processing, as its relatively low dry matter content makes for soft and wet french fries with a relatively high fat content. As visitors of our stand could experience, especially adapted varieties such as Sagitta and Voyager produce dry & crispy french fries. Another important advantage of new varieties such as Sylvana and Sifra is that they  have a higher disease resistance in comparison to Spunta, whilst giving the same good yields Spunta farmers are accustomed to. To view the different varieties presented at our stand, as well as an impression of the event, visit our Photo Gallery.

We thank everyone for their shown interest and would like to point out that next year's edition of AgroLibya is programmed to take place under FAO registration, and at the earlier time of March 2011.

This year's field day was held at the NedaLibya Trial Field at the farm of of Mr. Abu Zayed El Abyed in Gasr Ben Gasheer, Marazig area.

The day started with a tour of the field, where Jaap Mazee, HZPC-potato specialist, and Ghait El Bashaa demonstrated the new varieties. Visitors were invited to on the spot harvesting to view the yields of several new varieties with their own eyes.

After this practical start to the day, visitors were invited into the tent where Ghait El Bashaa held the first lecture of the day, on the inspection and logistics of potato transport, and the importance of new varieties. The main short term advantages of new varieties are that they bring more variety into the local market and provide better resistance to viruses and diseases such as scab. Some new varieties also have a shorter growing season, which enables a more efficient water usage. By being first on the market, farmers can set the price. These advantages can be achieved whilst maintaining the good yields that growers of HZPC-Spunta are accustomed to. After the lecture, the Video 'HZPC Company Profile' was shown, which explains the HZPC method, all the way from seed potato to finished product.

Second speaker of the day was Engineer Abdel Azziz Bakir of Tajuri Company. His lecture 'Nutrional Needs of the Potato Crop' investigated the different elements a potato needs in order to produce satisfactory yields. Apart from good soil and good water, special attention is required for the use of fertilizer as some deficiencies in potatoes are caused by a lack of certain trace elements, such as Manganese. This can be prevented by using fertilizer which has these trace elements added to the usual NPK.

Mr. Eng. Khaled Abusnaina, also of Tajuri Company, held the final lecture of the day titled 'Common diseases in the Potato Crop'. To be able to prevent diseases and recognise them in their early stages is an important part of disease management. To help grow a healthy crop, regular crop rotation is recommended to keep the soil healthy, as well as using good quality seed potatoes. Some diseases, such as tuber moth can be largely prevented by good hilling & ridging. This prevents the moths from being able to reach the potatoes.

After the official programme the day was closed with a festive tombola and lunch at the house of Mr. Abu Zayed El Abyed for all visitors, offered in cooperation with El Mazra company.

For more photos of the field day and an overview of the 12 HZPC-varieties, check out our Photo Gallery.

NedaLibya has the pleasure to invite you to their Field Day on Tuesday the 25th of May 2010.This year the event will take place at the NedaLibya Trial Field at the farm of of Mr. Abu Zayed El Abyed in Gasr Ben Gasheer, Marazig area.

Programme Preview:

• 10:00 - Opening Ceremony & lecture by Dr. Eng. Ghait Mohammed Ghait of NedaLibya Company on the the logistical challenges of potato transport and the possibilities of new HZPC potato varieties
• 10:30 - Video presentation of HZPC Company Profile
• 11:00 - Lecture 'Nutritional Needs of the Potato Crop' by Eng. Abdul Aziz Mustafa Bakir of Tajuri Company
• 11:30 - Lecture 'common diseases affecting the potato crop' by Eng. Khaled Moussa Abussnaina of Tajuri Company
• 12:00 - A tour of the trial field under the expert guidance of Mr. Jaap Mazee of HZPC Company with a demo harvest to view the new potato varieties up close
• 13:30 - Tombola & Closing Ceremony
• 14:00 - Lunch

How to get there:

We have the pleasure of inviting you to our next workshop, which is scheduled to take place at the Governmental Planning Council in Qasr Ben Gashir on Sunday 21 February, starting at 10.30 hours in the morning.

Here are some of the topics that will be dealt with:

• HZPC preshipment inspection & transport of the potatoes;
• the handling of potatoes on arrival;
• tips & growing instructions to make the most of your Spunta crop;
• prevention of diseases and pests such as common scab & tuber moth;
• the use of fertilizer and the safe use of pesticides;
• discussing the possibilities for new potato varieties:
• the Dacom Agri Yield Management System.

The workshop will be hosted by Dr. Ghait Mohammed Ghait El Bashaa, Eng. Abdulaziz Ordani, and Eng. Khaled Mousa Abusnaina.
We hope to welcome you at our workshop. For directions on how to get there, please see the map below.

Another season is well under way. The HZPC potatoes have arrived on the Libyan market and farmers are busy preparing for planting. For those who are interested to see what preceded this year’s arrival, click here to view & read our reportage on the preshipment inspection of the HZPC potatoes & loading of the vessels.

Workshop

Just as last season, NedaLibya will organise a workshop on various aspects of the potato chain & other topics of interest for arable farmers, such as the prevention of potato diseases, new HZPC potato varieties & the Dacom weather station. Access to all NedaLibya workshops is free. The workshop also provides a good occasion for anyone with questions about HZPC or Dacom products. If you are interested to attend our next workshop, contact us here and you will automatically receive an invitation when the exact date and location of the next workshop are available.

At Potato Europe 2009 Mr. Jan Hadders, President of Dacom presented NedaLibya with the first copy of his book ‘Agri Yield Management, The next revolution in agriculture’. In the book Mr. Hadders explains how intelligent sensor systems will contribute to worldwide sustainable growth in agricultural production at less cost and less ecological strain.

This is an absolute must according to the writer, as the agricultural sector faces the challenge of feeding a rapidly growing world population, combined with increasing pressure on our surroundings. In the epilogue Mr. Hadders challenges governments and international food production & processing companies world wide to open the discussion about Agri Yield Management (A-Y-M) implementation, as only an integrated and wide spread approach can make the farming community adapt A-Y-M. The book has been made available on the Dacom website. To download it, click here.

At this years edition of the annual  event Dacom also won third prize in the PotatoEurope 2009 Innovation Award for its product ‘Dacom WaterSave® Sensor System’. This system optimizes production and only advises irrigation when necessary, thus saving the farmer costs and water usage. A qualified jury selected Dacom out of 17 nominees. The selection criteria the jury used were innovativeness, inventiveness and market potential. According to the jury the Dacom WaterSave® Sensor System deserved bronze for its high score on sustainability.

On 22-25 June AgroLibya, the Libyan International Agriculture Fishery and Marine Wealth Exhibition was held in Tripoli for its third consecutive year.

The main theme was ‘Food Security for All’. NedaLibya had its own stand during the event where we had the pleasure of receiving many guests, amongst whom Dr. Abu Bakr Mabruk al-Mansuri, the Secretary of the General People’s Committee for Agriculture, Marine & Animal Wealth. For an impression of the event, click here. To read the article published in the newspaper ‘Farzj Al Jadeed’ (‘The New Dawn’) click here.

This year, the Libyan International Agriculture and Marine Fishery Exhibition will be held from June 22nd to 25th in Tripoli. Its main theme is ‘Nutritional Security for All’. NedaLibya has its own stand during this event. If you get the chance, drop in and visit us at stand A3. For more information about this fair,  visit www.agro-libya.com

On Sunday May the 3rd 2009 NedaLibya organised its second field day: the Joint HZPC & Dacom Field Day in Garabuli. We thank all our visitors and everyone involved for helping to make our field day a success,  and we hope to welcome you all again next year!

For an impression of the day in words & pictures, click here.

• That agriculture uses almost 90 % of all water?
• Water management is 'a key element' in food security?
• The Agri Yield system of Dacom enables farmers to save up to 30% on their usage of water and pesticides?
• See for yourself which savings you can achieve using the Dacom system, click here for a free agri yield check.